Towable water sports devices are used in various recreational and professional activities. These devices include water skis, kneeboards, wakeboards, water ski boards, tubes and other devices which are towed behind a motor boat or other towing vessel along with a rider. Typically, the rider stands, kneels, or sits on the device, and a towline is held by the rider or attached to the device.
Wakeboarding, for example, is a recreational and professional sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity. In wakeboarding and other water sports, it is often desirable to jump off the water surface to add excitement to the activity, perform tricks or other aerial maneuvers, etc. Often, the wake created by the towing vessel is used as a ramp to facilitate jumping off the surface of the water. However, regardless of the amount of wake present, riders will often want to maximize the ability to jump off the water surface.
Accordingly, motor boats have been provided with elevated anchor points typically called wake towers to accommodate a higher angle of attachment of the rider towline. Typically, a pylon, tower or like structure extends several feet above the deck of the boat (e.g., approximately 8-10 feet). This slightly increases the angle formed by the rider towline with the surface of the water. The resulting upwardly directed force component allows the rider to jump higher off the water surface.
Various constraints limit the advantages obtained through use of such elevated anchor points. Typically, there are practical and other limitations on the height of elevated anchor point structures, for example hauling or fold-away limitations. Large towers can flex significantly, requiring stabilizing guy wires or other structural reinforcements within the boat. Towers can also adversely affect the stability of the towing vessel, due to leveraged forces exerted by the rider towline on the tower, particularly when the rider pulls from one side of the motor boat. For these and other reasons, the jumping advantage provided by an elevated anchor point within a boat is limited.